Does anyone walk anymore? I want to start making walking a more consistent habit for myself but the only time I feel HAPPY or not bored walking is when I am a) at the dog park trails or b) have music... but even then I can't stand walking in my neighbourhood. I get so BORED. Anyone else? tips?

I'm thinking a garmin might help, I've tried step challenges with my Jawbone but the thing's batteries made it really way too annoying to keep using.

Find somewhere new to explore. Or go with a friend. I really enjoy the alone time and getting my thoughts straight. Maybe pick something to hash thru before you go out for a walk. Although that may just be a personality thing... a worrier etc lolI also really enjoy nature and live in the country so it's more scenic than a city. Although people watching (inconspicuously of course hehe) is always intriguing too. good luck

South side near Century Park... really the terwillegar dog park isn't too far away but with the shortened days I just have no motivation to go down there at night with the dog. I hope it gets better in the spring/summer. Maybe I should find a walking group, or just drive somewhere I like to walk 2x/week and once on the weekend. Just seems a shame to drive - to walk.

i find running and walking equally boring, so i use the same strategies for both:

1. do it with a friend so you can chat

2. go somewhere with nice scenery - yes, i sometimes drive to walk. my old place was fairly close to the bruce trail, so i would drive there for longer walks (it was a section that was fairly flat, so it was still more walk than 'hike'). i was intrigued last year by research studies reporting on the 'nature effect' of walks, and i've found it to be true in my own case. so i don't feel as guilty driving to walk in nature, time permitting of course.

3. listen to music

4. stay inside on the treadmill with a distracting tv show or movie (even better if it replaces time i would've otherwise spent on the couch watching that show)

bnn wrote:South side near Century Park... really the terwillegar dog park isn't too far away but with the shortened days I just have no motivation to go down there at night with the dog. I hope it gets better in the spring/summer. Maybe I should find a walking group, or just drive somewhere I like to walk 2x/week and once on the weekend. Just seems a shame to drive - to walk.

oh yeah I know where you mean. Yeah it's hard when the sun sets at 5 and it's snow everywhere.

Podcasts are key for me - there are so many good ones out there now! I have ones I save just for working out as extra motivation. Can you walk to "run" errands? Sometimes having a destination makes the walk more enjoyable.

scrumhalfgirl wrote: Can you walk to "run" errands? Sometimes having a destination makes the walk more enjoyable.

This is me. If I'm not walking the dog around the neighbourhood, I walk to "run" errands. Our dentist is about 1.5km from the house, so I walk to appointments. We live in a very walkable part of the city though. In the nicer weather/summer, sometimes Toddler*Smiles and I will walk to the park, then I'll walk him to DH's work (about 20 minutes) to say hi. I try to time it around when I expect DH to go on break and we will all go home together in the car and have lunch/dinner before Toddler*Smiles goes for a nap/to bed.

Right now when I am walking I try to remember to engage my glutes and core because of the back muscles that are currently atrophying ... I don't have time to be bored because I'm too focused on that

When your legs get tired, run with your heart.

Overcome the notion that you must be regular. It robs you of your chance to be extraordinary.

Before I hurt my foot, I walked my daughter to school - 2km every morning. We would notice the seasons change together. Somehow walking and seeing the world through her wondering eyes made it much more interesting!!!

RG

"Somedays you just need to do stuff on your someday list. just in case someday doesn't arrive" ~Seuss, as inspired by Spencer

"No matter how slow you run it is still faster than someone sitting on a couch."

"You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down."
Mary Pickford

Next up:
No Pressure! Run when I want, cycle when I want, swim when I want

Do not underestimate the value of a 10 - 15 minute around your neighborhood every day and before breakfast.

When you have a decision to make or some mental puzzle to solve, I find that walking is a great way to to do. And it "kills" the time when walking.

Make a trip. My pharmacy is 7 K away. My bank and grocery store around 3 K away. There are two other grocery stores around 4 K away and with hills. 2.5 K away is a nice coffee shop. At least once I week I try and do one of these walks. It provides the walk with meaning and a purpose. I have an nice back pack - three actually of different sizes I have accumulated.

Today, I needed some replacement pads for my Dr. Ho and some milk. So I put on my medium sized back pack and ran 4 K to the first store. Then jogged around 1 K. Got my groceries and a nice mocca as a reward and then walked back home. Later this week, I am going to get up early walk either 2.5 or 3 K depending upon what I feel like that day, stop and buy a coffee and a bagel, read the free newspaper and walk back home. You can make it an adventure with a long break at the some point in the walk. A nice luxury item that is 20 K away - you give the walk purpose and a sense you have earned the item.

The intense and face pace our modern world is travelling in, a walk can be a very pleasant and maybe much needed distraction. I am going to age myself but when I first started to work, we used a three part memo system. There is the phone and snail mail. I remember what a huge deal faxes were but the paper was so expensive at first it was only limited to "emergency" matters. Now, everything is so "instant" that the pace of a walk can be refreshing. One should have the attitude that walking can be a treat.

Granted I came upon this epiphany not through wisdom but because at one point running caused a compression fracture in my back that was impinging upon the nerve. I was also 30 - 40 pounds heavier than I am today. This lead to a severe health scare with issues specifically related to a risk of heart attack and stroke. Of all places, I found the best advice I have ever read at a body building website. The advice was go for a 10 minute walk before breakfast. Do not even worry about weights at first. Those ten minute walks did wonders and eventually they grew and grew. It was very nice to even jog to a coffee shop but then take the time to sit, enjoy a coffee, read the paper and realize that if I was an hour late responding to an email, the universe would not collapse on itself.

I do get the boring part. Walking lead to jogging, jogging to running and running to a race. This in turn lead me to delude and lie to myself that I needed to run a marathon and walking was forgotten for a period of time. But long story short, got a warning sign that marathons were no longer my thing and I have rediscovered walking. Again, the value of a ten minute walk - long and stressful day, to throw on a jacket and just walk around the block can be very beneficial. Or to walk to a bench and sit staring at the night sky or in the day as the clouds go by and contemplate life at a pace that I will argue is more natural.

If that is not enough and on certain days it seems to be a chore, I could quote you what seem to be an endless stream of studies that again show the tremendous health benefits - physical, mental, psychological, emotional and spiritual - and thus going for a walk is no different than taking a pill prescribed by a doctor. I bought a nice insulated jacket with a faux fur hoodie for cold mournings I do not want to walk but know that I should.

I have adjusted and modified my running - moving from the marathon distance to the odd 10 K race here or there because long story, there may come a day when I cannot run but I want to ensure that I can walk. I do not use music right now but I can see a day when I may. Or on the longer walks, a podcast of some sort.

Play Pokémon Go! I have a route that hits all the Pokestops and a gym in my neighbourhood. My husband and I spent nearly every evening downtown walking last summer, we could easily do 5K - 10K after dinner. The dog loved it too. My joy last year was taking photos of my dog "looking at" the little cartoon creatures. Just be sure to get a little portable charger because the game uses up your phone battery fast.